How Avengers: Infinity War Could Introduce Captain Marvel

With a little over a month to go until Avengers: Infinity War finally debuts, the hype for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe outing has officially reached a fever pitch. There are several elements of the upcoming arc (which will play out between Infinity War and Avengers 4) worth getting excited about, but one of the most intriguing of the bunch is how Brie Larson's Captain Marvel could factor into the equation. The character won't take center stage in the MCU until her solo movie debuts next March, but theories of her whereabouts have already started to circulate online. In fact, after going through much of the material, we've concluded that there's a genuine possibility that Avengers: Infinity War could introduce Carol by revealing that she's actually trapped inside of the Soul Stone.

The Infinity Stones have become the central MacGuffins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many of the films focusing on the hunt for specific gems. The Soul Stone is the one element of the Infinity Gauntlet that has yet to appear on the big screen yet, but its relevance to the Infinity War storyline is nevertheless incredibly crucial. Specifically, many incarnations of the Marvel lore have shown that the Soul Stone houses a hidden dimension known as "Soulworld," where a variety of beings exist. Though we cannot confirm anything yet, we think it's possible that Carol Danvers is currently residing in Soulworld and waiting to emerge when the Infinity War conflict draws her out.

This reveal would line up with the DNA of the core Infinity War storyline because the original Infinity Gauntlet storyline told a very similar tale -- except it was Adam Warlock who was trapped inside of the Soul Stone in that particular story.

Now, the odds of Adam Warlock also being trapped in the Soul Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem relatively remote. The ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 reveals his origins and suggests that he's still incredibly young at this stage of MCU's run. It doesn't seem likely that he ended up inside of the Soul Stone between that post-credits scene and the events of Avengers: Infinity War, but it is entirely possible that Carol Danvers somehow managed to find her way inside of the stone at some point.

In fact, of all of the heroes who could potentially emerge from the Soul Stone, Carol Danvers seems like the most likely of the bunch. Captain Marvel takes place in the 1990s, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to find some way to explain how she disappeared without a trace two decade ago (as well as how she can return without aging a day). Moreover, Captain Marvel is one of the only Earth-based heroes to have direct contact with aliens, meaning it's possible for her to have come across the Soul Stone at some point in her battle against the Skrulls.

If Avengers: Infinity War has her emerge from the stone to fight alongside The Avengers, then Captain Marvel could flesh out her backstory and explain how she got there in the first place. From there, she could take up a new leadership role on The Avengers' roster in Avengers 4 and help play a vital role in the fight to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his Black Order.

At this point, it's still far too early to know for sure if Carol Danvers is waiting to be discovered inside of the Soul Stone. That said, audiences will get answers to these pressing questions when Avengers: Infinity Wardebuts in theaters next month on April 27. Make sure to mark the film's release date down on your geek calendars and let us know what you think of this theory in the comments below!